Solutions that don’t break the bank, reinvent the wheel or marginalize our teachers are within our grasp. We could have rigorous classes, safe and disciplined schools and treat teachers like valued colleagues rather than easily replaceable cogs, and we could do so tomorrow if we wanted. Disclaimer, this is an opinion and commentary site and should not be confused as a news site. Also know that quite often people may disagree with the opinions posted.

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How to address discipline in Duval County Schools

By Greg Sampson

Having passed beyond the morning coffee, I continue to muse
over the judge’s reaction to discipline in Duval schools …

The Urban Subculture of Poverty

I am amused by those who come from a culture of upper middle
class values, and expect that all children in our Westside, Northwest-side, and
North-side schools share those values.

Why do boys wear their pants low? It is not media influence.
They will be quick to tell you that it is Jail. They want to identify with
males who have been to jail. This is more than normal adolescent rebellion.

In our urban neighborhoods of poverty, most everyone they
know has been through the justice system. It is not a matter of shame; it is a
rite of passage.

That’s what we deal with in our schools. Don’t blame the
students, don’t blame the teachers, it’s the way it is.

Rather than getting mad, rather than pointing fingers, let’s
try to help kids.

1.Many of our discipline problems do not arise in
our schools. They come in from the neighborhood. Sometimes students will fight
as proxy for their parents. We have days where problems arrive on the bus and
the administrators and school resource officer spend the entire day dealing
with it: calling parents, working with the students, dissipating the conflict.

2.Children from poverty have the attitude that
they must defend what belongs to them. It may seem silly to us, but when a
child has decided that a certain seat in the room belongs to them and someone
else sits in it, it is a major issue that they will fight over. They cannot
allow someone to take something away from them, or they are announcing to the
world that they are easy pickings—a cow carcass tossed into a piranha-choked
stream.

3.Parents also teach their children from birth
that no one has the right to put their hands on them. If someone touches them,
they have permission to fight. Even if you own nothing else, your body belongs
to you. Allow no one to violate that idea in the slightest way.

4.Family is strong, very strong. Older children
are told to protect their younger brothers and sisters.

5.The worst thing to do is back away from a fight.
Once one is challenged, that person has to go through with it.

6.However, with all this being said, kids are
strategic. It’s not a matter of losing control; they have decided for reasons
that make sense to them that they want to have a fight. They look for the right
opportunity. We can head off many conflicts by maintaining a visible presence
during times of student transition and being alert in our classrooms for
erupting conflict.

7.Children from poverty lack the background
knowledge of their peers. They haven’t been exposed to much and they lack the
ability to understand what is going on in a situation. For example, they do not
understand math problems about revenue, cost, and profit because nothing in
their family’s, neighbors’, or relatives’ lives expose them to small business
people—entrepreneurs. School is therefore harder for them.

8.My background is in math, but over the past few
years I have been exposed to the reading side, and the key to FCAT success is
background knowledge. No child can write about a camel if they have never seen
one.

9.When they enter adolescence, and social standing
is everything to them, and they cannot keep up, the way some choose to handle
it is to act out and take a classroom down. If no one is learning, they won’t
be embarrassed in front of their friends.

10.We have a student in our middle school that was
in second grade last year. Thanks to a hurry-up program under the former
superintendent, he is now in 6th grade. He admitted to one of his
teachers that he deliberately acts up in class because he doesn’t have a clue
what’s going on academically.

I am not an expert, but I am
sharing what I have learned and how it impacts discipline in our schools. My
hope is that this post will stimulate the thinking of others about the
challenges in our schools that children from poverty present in ways that do
not condemn them.

2 comments:

I wish people in charge would read this. If they did, they would rethink everything about the school system's behavior issues. It is seemingly simplistic, yet complex in its conclusions. Students don't misbehavior for the heck of it; there is always a reason. Many times, students don't know why they do it, yet sometimes they do. Why should a kid worry about studying for a test or writing an essay when someone or something is challenging his/her beliefs about one of the concepts above. Most students value the idea of education; they just struggle in understanding how to value that education. If someone takes my seat, I just go to another seat. If someone bangs into my shoulder in the hallway, I just say "excuse me" and move on. If someone makes fun of me, I surround myself with my friends and forget about those who don't respect me. Most of my students don't see life this way. Because of that, behavior issues occur. Because of the behavior issues, the educational issues become secondary.

Your post was an eye-opener for me. Thanks very much for sharing.I have tried to to teach math courses where 90% of the students just didn't have the basic knowledge to begin. I have had students in AP Calculus that could not do basic algebra never mind trig.